Is George W. Bush a lame duck? Is impeachment at this point unnecessary? What kind of future can we look forward to if Bush is never impeached? In order to answer these questions it is important to look at what impeachment is and what it would do.
Impeachment would open up investigations by the judiciary committee into the 35 Articles of Impeachment against George W. Bush.
If the judiciary committee finds that these investigations show that crimes have been committed a resolution will be issued to the House, which then goes on to a Floor vote, and if voted through by a majority will lead to a trial in the Senate.
The trial in the Senate would be run similar to a court trial, with the full Senate acting as jury with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, (John Roberts), acting as judge. Once the arguments of the prosecution and defense are heard the Senate would meet in a closed session to deliberate, the Senate would then vote in open session on each Article of Impeachment - a two-thirds vote is needed for a conviction. On conviction the official, (Bush), would be removed from office, if a two-thirds vote is not reached the official would be acquitted.
If convicted, Bush would be removed from office, but even if Bush was not convicted in the course of the impeachment spectacle the crimes of the Bush administration would be aired, debated, and proclaimed to the world. No longer could the media ignore the vast legacy of criminality that the Bush regime has perpetrated for the last seven years, and the people of the world would hear all the dark dirty secrets and crimes that this regime has kept and committed and there would be a resounding outcry for justice.
Not only would the Bush regime's deadly crimes be laid bare, but it is highly probable that an impeachment trial would completely prevent Bush from attacking Iran. Article XXI charges Bush with: "Misleading Congress and the American People About Threats from Iran, and Supporting Terrorist Organizations Within Iran, With the Goal of Overthrowing the Iranian Government". Surely with such a charge pending trial and with a public challenge on the validity of any action against Iran being heard in the Senate, no declaration of war could be acted upon during that time.
The fact that George W. Bush has pushed and continues to push for war with Iran shows that he is far from a lame duck. Bush and his administration are continuing their agenda unabated and virtually unchallenged. Impeachment could be instrumental in preventing Bush from starting another illegal, pre-emptive, and baseless war.
Not only can impeachment lay bare the crimes of the Bush regime for the world to see, remove Bush from office, and at the same time prevent war with Iran, impeachment can also serve another extremely vital function: the impeachment process can serve as an example to future leaders of what will happen to them if they decide to subvert the rule of law.
But what will happen if Kucinich's 35 Articles of Impeachment quietly die in judiciary committee and the crimes of the Bush regime are not investigated? If the Bush regime's crimes are not investigated will these crimes then become accepted behavior by America's leaders? If no one is held to account for authority over-stepped, laws undermined, rule of law flouted, and torture codified, what's to stop the next president, and the next and the next and the one after that from following suit?
To allow George W. Bush to go virtually unchallenged in any significant and legal way now is to allow a foundation of corruption and despotism to be laid at the feet of every president after him: an absolutely flawless model for sidestepping accountability and practicing unchecked and unfettered powers.
Imagine a progression and a continuation of the agenda of the Bush regime year after year. Imagine the aftermath that a pre-emptive and deadly bombing of Iran will have on the world, not only the horrendous death and destruction such an act would immediately cause, but the worldwide economic fall-out, and the possibility of an increase in the ferocity of the wars already being waged and the likely increase in terrorism in retaliation for the actions of George W. Bush. Such a future portends to be a much darker version of our current reality.
A future without impeachment paints a frighteningly bleak picture, a picture that at this point many of us can see but too few of us are acting to prevent. If ever there was a time to act, now is that time. Congressman Kucinich has promised to re-introduce the 35 Articles of Impeachment against Bush within 30 days of the first introduction if the judiciary committee does not act. That's just a few short weeks from now. It's time, right now, to promote the necessity of impeachment as widely as possible. It is imperative that the Bush regime be driven from office and held accountable for its many crimes - it's time to act now.
At this point the future in unwritten; which one we get is up to us.
